Dinamo Zagreb will play host to Sparta Prague in the first leg of their Europa League playoff. After losing in the third qualifying round, the two teams were knocked out of the Champions League qualifications. They are now competing to go to the Europa League group stage.
Preview (Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Prague)
Dinamo Zagreb failed to advance to the Champions League group stage this season after losing 4-3 on aggregate to Greek champions AEK Athens, despite a 2-2 second-leg stalemate last week. Dinamo Zagreb participated in the group stage last season. Zagreb dropped the first leg 2-1 at home. They appeared to be in charge of the return match as they held a 2-0 advantage. With two goals in the 92nd and 101st minutes of stoppage time, AEK Athens unexpectedly turned the match around. It gave the Greek team the victory on aggregate and relegated Zagreb to Europa League qualifying.
There is “no time to grieve” the loss to AEK Athens. According to Jakirovic, who is eager to immediately introduce an offensive style of play at Dinamo. Instead, the Bosnian manager thinks his players should “draw lessons” from the defeat as they begin a new era. In their first five games at Stadion Maksimir in all competitions, Dinamo has won two, lost two, and drawn one. They will be looking to put that uneven home record behind them against Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Sparta’s thrilling second-leg match against Copenhagen featured four overtime goals. The Danish champions ultimately won the match in a penalty shootout. Both Ladislav Krejci and Asger Sorensen missed their 12-yard attempts. The Czech First Division match between Sparta and Teplice last Saturday ended in a 1-1 draw. Brian Priske’s team having to settle for just a point after allowing an 85th-minute equalizer. Krejci’s week took a turn for the worst when he was shown a red card. After a 1-1 friendly draw with Dinamo Zagreb in preseason last month, Sparta is looking to get back on the winning track when they meet again on Thursday.
Team News
Prior to the match on Thursday, Dinamo Zagreb has no injury concerns, but center-back Josip Sutalo has already played his final match for the team after completing a rumored €21 million transfer to Ajax on Monday. Bosko Sutalo or summer acquisition Maxime Bernauer could take Sutalo’s spot in the starting lineup, alongside Stefan Ristovski at the center of the defense. Jakirovic is unlikely to make many changes, if any, to his midfield and attack.
Asger Sorensen may replace Martin Vitik at center back because of this. In the center of the field, David Pavelka and Qazim Laci will compete with Lukas Sadilek and Kaan Kairinen for the starting position. Veljko Birmancevic, Jan Kuchta, and Lukas Haraslin, who have combined for eight goals in as many games this season, are all expected to start in attack. In command of Dinamo Zagreb, Jakirovic is expected to have an instant impact. The team will be trying to forget about their Champions League elimination by beating Sparta Prague at home. In prior meetings, there hasn’t been much to separate these two clubs, and another close game might be in the works on Thursday. If that happens, a sharing of the spoils would maintain the tie in a good place going into next week’s second leg.
Dinamo Zagreb 1 – 1 Sparta Prague
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